Self-playing mechanism for instruments.



No. 809,565. PATENTED JAN. 9, '1906. F. W. HEDGELAND. SELF PLAYING MBCHANISM FOR INSTRUMENTS.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 2l, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 809,565. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906. I. W. HEDGELAND.

SELI' PLAYING MEGHANISM EUR INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N. s? L IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SELF-PLAYING MECHANISNI FOR INSTRUMENTS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed July 2l, 1905. A Serial No. 270,605.

T0 all whom, it 17V/wy concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. IIEDGE- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Self-Playing Mechanism for Instruments, of which the following is a specihcation.

This invention relates to means for producing solo effects in self playing instruments, and is adapted more particularly to be used in two-manual organs.

The invention embodies, in combination with the ordinary or self-playing mechanism of organs or similar instruments, means whereby the operator may pick out and play the notes of the solo upon the solo-organ and silence all other notes in that organ, whereby also he may while thus playing the solo and silencing the other notes in the solo-organ play the accompaniment in the other organ. The nature of the means employed for the accomplishment of these ends are fully set forth in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan, partly in section, of that portion of a two-manual organ to which my invention relates, and Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

In said drawings, 5 represents a key of the swell or solo organ manual, and 6 is the usual wind-box, provided with valves 7 and 8, operated by the key. The box is normally illed with compression-air'.

9 is the motor-channel, supplied with air under pressure from said box, and 1.0 is a continuation of said channel joined thereto, as explained later on, and extending to the valve (not shown) which controls the speaking-pipe corresponding to the key. When the air-pressure is present in the channel 9 10, the pipe is silent; but it speaks when the pressure is removed, as is the case when the key is struck, the valve 7 then closing and valve 8 opening, allowing the air in the channel to escape or when the pressure is removed from the continuation by the perforated sheet of the self-playing mechanism, as hereinafter explained.

The key 11 (also shown at Fig. 2) is a key in the lower or greater organ manual and corresponds in pitch to the key 5. It is provided with a wind-box 12, charged with air under pressure and having valves 13 and 14 operated by the key and controlling the port by which the box communicates with its motor-channel 15, and 16 is the continuation of said channel, similarly connected thereto and leading to the valve controlling the corresponding speaking-pipe. The exhausting of the channel 15 16 causes its pipe to speak precisely as in the case of the swell-organ key and pipe.

The tracker-range of the automatic playing mechanism is shown at 17, and 18 is the perforated music-sheet, passing over the range from the music-roll 19 to the take-up roll 20. Each note in the range is connected, by a pipe 21, to two action-boxes 22 and 23, the former belonging to the swell and the latter to the great organ, and the motor-pipes 9 and 15 enter these boxes, and the continuations 10 and 16 lead therefrom, and said pipes and continuations communicate with each other through valved passages 24 and 25, formed in the boxes. The pipe 21 is normally exhausted, as will be understood, by the bleeds 32 and 37, which open, respectively, into exhaust chambers 31 and 36, hereinafter mentioned, and a branch from it enters a chamber 26 in the box 22, and its end enters a similar chamber 27 in the greatorgan box 23. One side of chamber 26 is formed by the membrane-motor 28, which is joined to the stem 29 of the valve 30, controlling passage 24. At the opposite side of motor 28 is an exhaust-chamber 31, communicating with the continuation 10 by a port, also controlled by valve 30, and a bleedingpassage 32 is provided between chamber 31 and pipe 21. A membrane 33, similar to membrane 28, is also present at chamber 27, and it is oined to the stem 34 of a valve 35, controlling passage 25. An exhaust-chamber 36 is provided above membrane 33 and communicates with the continuation 16 by a port controlled by said valve 35 and also with pipe 21 by a bleeding-passage 37. The valves are adapted, it will be seen, also to break the communication between the motor-channels and the eontinuations, and thus cause their pipes to speak, and they do this whenever a perforation of the music-sheet uncovers the mouth of pipe 21, except that in the case of the solo-organ all the notes except those included in the solo are prevented from sounding by some suitable means, the

referred construction of which is that set forth below.

At 40l is a cylinder which I call the plun- IOO ger-cylinder, because it contains two airtight plungers 4l and 42, slidable along its interior. The cylinder is perforated at numerous points along its length, and at these perforations a series of pipes 43, one for each note embraced in the tracker range, are joined to it. These pipes 43 are also joined to the swell-organ action-box 22, each leading to a chamber 44 above a membrane 45, exposed to the outer air upon its lower surface. rlhe stem of valve 30 is attached to this membrane 45, as well as to membrane 28. The cylinder is connected at each of its ends to a compressed-air supply by pipes 46, as seen at Fig. l, so that all that portion of the cylinder located outside the plungers instead of between them, as well as such of the pipes 43 as are connected with such outside portions of the cylinder and the chambers 44 of the same pipes, will all be normally charged with compressed air, and while under such pressure the corresponding valves 30 are prevented from rising to their upper positions, so that the corresponding pipes cannot sound. The plungers are mounted upon hollow stems 47 and 48, and these stems eX- tend through the plungers and also through the cylinder ends and are open at both ends, so that atmospheric pressure constantly prevails in them and in such of the pipes 43 as are between the plungers and in the chambers 44 of such pipes. The stems are connected, as shown at Fig. 1, to operatingframes 49 and 50, whereby the operator may slide the plungers back and forth in the cylinder and uncover such of the pipes 43 as may occur in the solo. In these movements the two frames may be moved together in unison at any distance apart, or they may be separated or closed together, as desired. Indicators or hands 5l and 52 are attached to the operating-frames, as shown, for convenience in moving the frames in accordance with the position of the notes of the solo upon the perforated sheet. The movements of the frames are not limited to the halves of the cylinder in which their respective plungers may be located; but, on the contrary, the stems may be made sufficiently long to permit the plungers to travel substantially from one end to the other of the cylinder.

The operation of the invention is as follows: As already stated, both the motorchannels and their continuations and connecing-passages are normally charged with air under pressure, and the valves 30 and 35 are normally in position to open communication between the channels and their continuations, and the pipes 43 are also normally charged with air under pressure from the plunger-cylinder. Under these conditions the valves 30 are held down because of the superior pressure on the membranes 45 overbalancing any contrary pressure which can come from membranes 28, even when the perforated sheet opens the tracker passage; but when the pressure in any pipe 43 is relieved by the positioning of the plungcrs at opposite sides of that pipe, as is the case when its note is brought into the solo, then membrane 45 becomes neutral, so that the corresponding valve 30 may then be raised whenever the air is admitted to the trackerrange by the perforation of the music-sheet and inflates membrane 28, the membrane having a greater area than the valve. The raising ofthe valve 30, which now takes place, breaks the communication between the soloorgan motor-channel and its continuation, so that the latter is brought into communication with the exhaust-chamber 31 and is itself exhausted and causes its pipe to speak. From this it will be seen that no note in the swell-organ will be sounded so long as its pipe 43 continues charged with air under pressure; but this in no wise prevents the sounding of the corresponding notc in the great organ, the valve 35 in the motor-channel of that organ being at all times free to be shifted by the air from the tracker-range. Both manuals are controlled by the same perforations and both may be played simultaneously by the same perforations.

I 'claiml. In a self-playing organ, the combination with a solo-manual and an accompaniment-manual, of a music-sheet controlling both manuals and employing the same perforations for both, means whereby the sheet causes the operation of both manuals, and means whereby the operator may silence the notes of the solo-manual not embraced in the solo, such means consisting of the plunger-s and the cylinder containing the plungers and having perforations connected to the action of the solo-manual.

2. The combination with an instrument having no less than two manuals, of a perforated music-sheet controlling the manuals, and means under the control of the operator whereby he may silence all the notes except the solo-notes upon one manual without interfering with the accompaniment upon the other manual.

3. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of a solo-manual, an accompaniment-manual, means for playing both manuals automatically and means under the control of the operator for silencing at will such notes as he may desire on the solo-manual while permitting the playing of the notes of the accompaniment upon the other manual.

4. The combination with the automatic playing mechanism embodying a perforated music-sheet, of a two-manual organ, embodying a solo-manual and an accompaniment-manual, both manuals being controlled by the same ,perforations in the music-sheet, of means whereby the operator selects such IOO IIO

6. The combination With the solo-manual, the accompaniment-manual, the music-sheet and means whereby the sheet controls both 15 manuals, of means for normally silencing all the notes of the solo-manual, and means for selecting such of said notes as are embraced in the solo and allowing them to sound.

FREDERICK W. HEDGELAND.

l/Vitnesses H. M. MUNDAY, S. ABRAMs. 

